Loose Women star Nadia Sawalha has opened up about her struggle with severe health anxiety, describing it as 'horrendous' and saying it robs her of the joy of life. The 60-year-old TV personality said she questions whether she is developing dementia up to 35 times a day, and the intrusive thoughts leave her drained.
In a video posted to her YouTube channel, Sawalha shared that she constantly worries about developing various diseases, including bowel cancer, skin cancer, asbestos poisoning, and Weil's disease – a rare bacterial infection linked to rats. 'Something will pop up on Instagram or my 17 or 21-year-old will share something with me on TikTok or a magazine [will publish something] and I will just obsess,' she said.
The most 'petrifying' illness she preoccupies herself with is dementia, which currently has no cure. 'There wasn't anything I did today, any interaction or transaction, where I didn't go 'that was a bit weird, is that dementia,'' she admitted. Sawalha added that her obsessions, which have lately included checking her moles for skin cancer, 'steal the joy of life' and prevent her from enjoying time with family.
Sawalha shares daughters Kiki, 17, and Maddie, 21, with husband Mark Adderley. She has lost numerous friends to cancer and campaigns for the breast cancer drug Enhertu to be made available across the UK. Health anxiety is related to OCD and can be treated with talking therapy and medication, according to the NHS.
